Changes

I have never been much for change.  I feel comfortable adhering to set patterns.

Ah, the change that can come from a minute or a mile!

Last week my blogging was cheerfully concerned with David Bowie, who was in the news for the release of his latest album Blackstar to coincide with his birthday last Friday.  The two new videos from Blackstar were mesmerizingly cryptic.  The visuals were lavishly stunning and the words were enigmatically endearing.   These elements were found in all of Bowie’s output and is a great part of my attraction to his work.  His imagination was drawn to the otherworldly outcast.  He was creating what fueled my dreams.

Before the excitement of Blackstar’s release had time to fade, a fresh wave of Bowie emotion surged to the forefront of the news.  Bowie had died before weekend’s wane.

Apparently the musical genius had been suffering from cancer.  He shared so many roles with the world via his music – Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, etc. – but his role as cancer fighter he played out privately.

Released videos from Blackstar have been scrutinized for farewell clues.  With an artist as intellectual and vibrant as Bowie, a multitude of clues can be found or imagined.

I’ve read a lot about Bowie and watched/listened eagerly to everything of his I could.  Articles and more about him have stoked the media over the last few days.  I have no greater knowledge about him to share, other then to express my personal adoration of his work.  I thought he was wonderfully bizarre as the title character in The Man Who Fell to Earth.  I loved the futuristic noir styling Bowie incorporated into his 90’s album Outside.  Outside and Diamond Dogs (which began life as a musical version of George Orwell’s 1984) played with paranoia and dark visions of a futuristic society.  This and other elements of Bowie’s charisma remind me of another of the icons I adore – Patrick McGoohan.

Patrick McGoohan’s probably most famous for his work as star of The Prisoner, a 60’s series he also worked behind the scenes to bring to life.  The program revolved around a secret agent who found himself mysteriously transported to an enigmatic village at an unknown locale.  The Prisoner has the edge of Kafka as it dealt with the manifestations of government, education and more upon the life of citizens.

There are some cool connections I can stretch between McGoohan and Bowie.  Patrick McGoohan played a spy using the name David Jones in the film Ice Station Zebra and David Bowie was born with the name David Jones.  Both Bowie and McGoohan died in the month of January.  Both Patrick McGoohan and David Bowie are at the top of my list of favorite artists.

Artists have always been my heroes.  How appropriate that one of Bowie’s songs is called Heroes.  And then there’s also that early hit of Bowie’s called changes that is always due a new listening.

The Prisoner Anniversary

The Prisoner turns 48 today.

The cult classic series had its British television premiere on September 29, 1967 and was unlike anything else contained on the small screen.  Dynamic and enigmatic, episodes revolved around such controversial themes as the manipulations of society, drug use and the rights of the individual.

The Village was the show's mysterious setting - a picturesque place where those with important information deemed too sensitive to be widely known were kept.  Who ran the Village was a secret, especially to The Prisoner's protagonist played by Patrick McGoohan.  McGoohan's work on the series stretched beyond that of actor to occasional writer and director, as well as shaping the series as a whole.  Patrick McGoohan had previously found fame on TV in the show Danger Man which imported to the United States in an incarnation known as Secret Agent.  The Prisoner had its roots in the spy craze of the 60's but was altogether a different kettle of fish.

I entered The Prisoner's fandom as a teen when that and other classic British series occupied the 11pm time slot on Maryland Public TV.  I found the adventures of The Avengers and Dr. Who quite stylish and engaging.  These British classics became my TV favorites - and The Prisoner was at the top of the list. 

Everything about The Prisoner is top notch, from the writing to the direction.   The exciting opening title music by Ron Grainer (also responsible for Dr. Who's original theme) began royally with rumbling thunder.  There was something just so magnetic about McGoohan - especially as he drove his car and strode the corridors to offer his resignation during the show's opening credits.  Patrick McGoohan's character of Number Six seemed a champion of independence and intelligence - something very appealing to me.  The Prisoner rebelled against a succession of village bureaucrats, all referred to as Number Two played weekly by (mostly) different actors.  The series introduced me to numerous great British actors like Leo McKern who menaced The Beatles in Help!. 

The Prisoner doesn't look its age - probably because the colorful fashions were evoking a style instead of an era and the setting was deliberately obscure.  The Village could have been everywhere, but its meaning and entrapments were uniquely surreal.  A large weather balloon type object called rover was the security system of the village.  When an attempt at escape was initiated the rover bounded into action, impressing itself onto its victim.  The science of the village was beyond technology.     

The Prisoner can easily be considered an ancestor of enigmatic and challenging programs such as David Lynch's Twin Peaks and J. J. Abrams' Lost. There was even a 'reboot' Prisoner mini-series from AMC with Ian McKellan as Number Two.  But for fans of the original iconic series there can be no replacing the image of Patrick McGoohan grimly guiding his car or shouting out his declaration of independence on the village's beach at the beginning of each episode.

Patrick McGoohan as Number 6 often undergoes 'treatment' in the village.

Remembering Patrick McGoohan

 

   March 19th is the anniversary of the birth of the compelling and charismatic actor, director and writer Patrick McGoohan.  Interesting he gave probably his most famous role, Number Six of The Prisoner, the same birthday.
     The Prisoner was a TV show Patrick McGoohan at least co-conceived, starred in, and wrote as well as directed various episodes of, both under his own name and pen names.  The series debuted in the 60's when the spy genre was all the rage, from Bond on the big screen to TV undertakings like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. or The Avengers.  McGoohan himself had starred as super-spy John Drake in two series, Danger Man and Secret Agent.  Allegedly, McGoohan had grown bored of the genre and wanted to do a series more cerebral and thought provoking.  The Prisoner certainly deserved the label thought provoking as well as enigmatic and bizarre, especially by standards set by 60's TV.
     The Prisoner revolved around the resignation of a spy played by McGoohan, which resulted in the character's transportation to an eigmatic village.  The village had a serene and tranquil visage, but was impossible to escape.  Populated by a sinister administration with an ever changing face of authority, McGoohan's character was always referred to as Number Six and he could never be sure who was running the village.  The show had surreal and sci-fi aspects including a balloon referred to as Rover which fetched back with uncanny ease those who attempted escape.  Issues explored in the show remain relevant today - including drug use, government influence and education vs mind control.  These themes were not so easily or ever undertaken by your average spy show, but their exploration appealed to Patrick McGoohan.  Perhaps that's why McGoohan felt such a close bond with the series that he merged himself with the role, even giving Number Six his March 19 birthday.
     Viewers could always expect the unexpected from the series.  It never settled for the simple hero-villain dynamic and many viewers were confused or disappointed by the show's 17th episode finale which failed to offer a tidy conclusion.  Yet the show was hailed by critics - one going so far as to call the series "an oasis in the vast wasteland of television."
     Patrick McGoohan will probably always best be remembered with fans as Number 6, but he had numerous roles of interest.  He played both heroes and villains.  He was memorable as both leading man and character actor.  Some other noteworthy roles include...

     Patrick McGoohan may well have first been noticed by American audiences for the lead role in Disney's 1963 version of The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh.  He portrayed Dr. Syn, a vicar by day and the masked leader of a gang of smugglers by night, who thwarted the wicked efforts of the local British officials.  The series consisted of three one hour episodes.  It was set in the British countryside and featured abundant swashbucking on McGoohan's part amid lavish sets.  And it had one catchy theme song that ended with a chilling laugh!

     Two Emmies were awarded Patrick McGoohan for his work on Columbo.  He played four different murderers, none of whom could best the determined detective in the crumpled overcoat.  McGoohan directed two of the episodes he appeared in, as well as episodes which featured Robert Vaughn and Billy Connelly.  Peter Falk (Coumbo) and McGoohan apparently had a good friendship, as McGoohan's work on the series ranged from the 70's to the dawn of the new millenium.  Falk even authored the forward for a biography about Patrick McGoohan.

     In Ice Station Zebra, Patrick McGoohan played a spy on the big screen.  At the height of the could war, McGoohan's David Jones was in a rush to ice station zebra to retreive a downed satellite with vital secret footage before the Russians could retreive it.  This film was Howard Hughes' favorite and he reportedly viewed it hundreds of times.  I had the chance to chat with actor Ron Masak, who appeared in the movie, and he confirmed the sub used to film on was authentic.   

     Perhaps McGoohan's best known recent role was in Mel Gibson's 1995 Academy Award winning Bravheart.  McGoohan played King Edward Longshanks, the nemesis of Gibson's heroic freedom fighter, Willliam Wallace.

     Patrick McGoohan died on January 13, 2009, leaving behind a plethora of great TV and film roles.


Below top -Patrick McGoohan receives treatment in The Prisoner.
Below bottom - Patrick McGoohan plays a secret agent in Ice Station Zebra with Rock Hudson.